Dayton’s three-game losing streak in the series followed a seven-game losing streak. Marquette got its revenge on Dec. 5, 2001, beating Dayton 71-53 at the Bradley Center.
That remains Marquette’s last victory in the series. The programs have played only three times since that game (2003, 2008 and 2024).
The Golden Eagles (3-2) and Flyers (3-1) meet again at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Milwaukee at the Fiserv Forum. The arena opened in 2018 and serves as the home for Marquette and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bradley Center was demolished in 2019.
“It’s another great opportunity,” Dayton coach Anthony said Saturday after a 91-82 victory against Bethune-Cookman at UD Arena. “Marquette is a great program. I know it’s going to be a great environment going there. It’s another road game. I think our guys will be excited at the opportunity. We’re looking forward to getting prepared for that.”
Here are five things to know about the game:
1: Series history: Marquette leads the series 21-15. Dayton is 12-6 at home, 2-15 on the road and 1-0 on a neutral court.
Dayton’s two victories at Marquette came on Feb. 10, 1990, when Negele Knight made a game-winning shot with three seconds remaining in a 79-77 victory and on Dec. 7, 1999, when it beat Marquette 63-60 at Milwaukee Arena, which was then known as MECCA Arena.
Last season at UD Arena, Dayton rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat No. 6 Marquette 71-63. Dayton recorded its biggest upset on Tom Blackburn Court since a victory against No. 6 Pittsburgh in 2007. Javon Bennett and Zed Key each scored 15 points for the Flyers.
“That’s a great memory,” Bennett said Saturday. “I remember how loud it got. That’s probably the loudest it’s ever been since I’ve been here.”
This will be Dayton’s second road trip. It lost 74-62 at Cincinnati last week, falling to 1-9 in true road games in non-conference play in coach Anthony Grant’s nine seasons.
“It’s going to be a good atmosphere going (to Marquette),” Bennett said. “We’ve just got to continue to get Ws. The last away trip, we didn’t get what we wanted.”
2: State of the program: Marquette finished 23-11 last season and played in the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in coach Shaka Smart’s four seasons. It tied for fourth in the Big East with a 13-7 record.
Marquette was picked to finish fifth out of 11 teams in the Big East preseason poll this season.
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Scouting report: Marquette lost its three top scorers from last season; Kameron Jones, a second-round pick of the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Draft; David Joplin; and Steve Mitchell. All three of those players spent their entire four-year careers at Marquette — a rarity in the days of the transfer portal.
For the second straight season, Marquette did not add a transfer to its roster. Its three double-digit scorers this season have all played for only Marquette in their college careers: 6-foot-4 senior guard Chase Ross (20.8 points per game); 6-11 senior forward Ben Gold (10.8); and 6-5 junior forward Zaide Lowery (10.4).
Two top-100 2025 recruits are playing double-digit minutes for Marquette: 6-0 guard Nigel James (8.8); and 6-4 guard Adrien Stevens (4.4).
In its two losses, Marquette has made 15 of 56 3-pointers (26.8%). Dayton’s defense has struggled to guard the 3. It ranks 331st in the country in opponents’ 3-point shooting percentage (40.5).
“I think with every team it takes time,” Dayton guard Jordan Derkack said. “I’m glad that we’ve got some athletes. We can really move. We’re trying a bunch of different things. You can see it on the court. We’re trying a bunch of different presses and half-court defenses, and we’re seeing what works for us. We’re four games in, so we’re just working it out.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4: Early results: Marquette dominated three low-ranked teams in the first two weeks of the season, beating Albany, Southern and Little Rock by an average of 28.3 points.
In its other games, Marquette lost 100-77 to Indiana in Chicago on Nov. 7 and 89-82 at home to Maryland on Saturday. The loss to Maryland ended a 17-game winning streak in non-conference home games. Marquette hadn’t lost a game in that category since an 80-77 overtime loss to Wisconsin on Dec. 3, 2022.
Marquette led Maryland by as many as nine points early in the second half but lost the lead with 10 minutes to play and never regained it. Maryland took over the game despite losing leading scorer Pharrel Payne to a season-ending injury with 12 minutes to play.
“We just didn’t sustain the defensive intensity and toughness and tenacity we had to have,” Smart said. “Maryland deserves a lot of credit, especially for the way that they came together after Payne went out.”
5: Odds & Ends: Dayton fell from No. 69 to No. 74 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings after beating No. 209 Bethune-Cookman.
KenPom.com gives Dayton a 33% chance of beating No. 59 Marquette. It predicts an 80-75 score.
• Dayton ranks 90th in the country in free-throw percentage (75%). The national average is 71.3%.
Bennett has made 20 of 22 free throws (90.9%).
Credit: David Jablonski
NEXT GAME
Who: Dayton at Marquette
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Streaming: truTV
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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